Atta Muhammad Noor Calls His Dismissal Unacceptable

Hours after the announcement of the Presidential Palace’s confirmation about the resignation of Balkh governor, Atta Muhammad Noor reacted against President’s decision and rejected it.

The powerful governor of Balkh has declared that his dismissal from the governor position was conditional on fulfilling the commitments that President promised to the Jamiat party.

Mr. Noor is also one of the leaders of the Jamiat-i-Islami political party, which holds half the seats in the coalition government.

“President told me, I afraid you would not resign and in response, I presented my resignation letter conditional to fulfilling his commitments; otherwise my resignation is excused and I do not accept it,” he said.

After weeks of rumors, a statement issued early Monday by the president’s office said that President Ashraf Ghani had accepted the resignation of Atta Muhammad Noor.

The former warlord emphasized that he will share his final decision after bargaining with the leadership of the Jamiat party and called on foreign countries to stay out of interfering in the country’s affairs.

Mr. Noor warned that he would use any option against the government if the Presidential Palace uses the military forces.

“Based on our agreement, a person should be appointed as the governor. We do not want an imposed governor,” he said.

In a speech to a group of supporters, Noor urged them to keep to civil protest “for now”.

Previously, he accused the Chief Executive, Abdullah Abdullah of political inability and stressed that he will negotiate with President on what Mr. Abdullah failed to achieve.

However, sources aware of Mr. Abdullah’s position said that he had agreed with the president’s decision to remove Mr. Noor, but that he had questioned its timing.

In the meantime, regarding Mr. Noor’s issue, Zahir Qadir, a member of the lower house noted that the government will face a huge crisis when it cannot fulfill its commitments.

On the other hand, following the dismissal of Balkh governor, the acting foreign minister, Salahuddin Rabbani postponed his trip to Greece and returned back to Kabul.

Atta Muhammad Noor, 54, worked as the governor of Balkh for nearly 15 years.